Childhood Wishes
by nishikaze
Summary: A look back into the childhoods of two characters.


Childhood Wishes

A Voltron fanfiction by Nishikaze

A little girl ran through the halls of the opulent castle, tears streaming down her cheeks. She had long since eluded the nurses and the maids... she was by far faster then they. Besides... none of them knew where she was going. She made her way to a hall long since abandoned and under the grand fireplace that stood at the far side of the room. The room was an old conference hall of the ancient kings. Once great men roamed the hall, their words and actions were legendary. The walls were covered with grandiose pictures of these kings... her ancestors. Any other time she would gaze at them in awe, remembering their stories... but it wasn't their silent likenesses she came to see this time. She reached her hand under the mantle and touched the rusty switch she knew would be there. She heard the familiar sound of scraping stone as the back of the fire-place moved to reveal a low doorway. She could hear the men, those her nurse had sent to find her in the hallway outside the hall. She wasn't ready to go with them yet though. She ducked into the passage and behind the door as it closed after her. 

She was enveloped in darkness, but she wasn't afraid. She knew the passage so well she could navigate it with or without lights. She ran her hand along the stone wall as she made her way down the path, taking a little comfort in its cold permanence. It wasn't long before she could see the dim light of the stars through the doorway at the other end of the hall. She walked towards the light. 

The path was a secret her mother and father had kept; they were the only ones who knew of the path and the garden that lay on the other end of the dark hall. Her father had found the hall as a young boy while exploring, and kept the secret of the lost garden. The stone work was almost completely overgrown by the plants and flowers. He kept the secret even after his marriage to a princess of a local planet. He fell deeply in love with his wife and presented the little garden as a gift and it was secret that they kept between the two of them. That is, until little Allura, their daughter was born. 

Allura would sit on a blanket and watch her mother care for the little garden, listening to the stories her mother would tell. She had always loved stories, but her favorite was the story of the origin of the little garden. She would sit so still, listening to her mother's story. She could still remember every word.

"In a time of peace, one of your ancestors, a young prince, fell in love with the daughter of the Forest King. He was very sickly and he was not expected to live long enough to marry. This distressed the nobles and court advisors, for his mother and father had died when the prince was only ten. They feared that if he did not produce an heir that the lords would fight over the crown, putting an end to century of peace. A friend of the prince told him of the Forest King and his beautiful daughter. The prince was fascinated by the story and he convinced his friend to take him there to see this king and his court. They journeyed deep into the forest and into the realm of the Forest King with out any luck. They were beginning to fear they would never find it. 

"While watering the horses on the eve of the third day, the young prince was distracted by the sound of a woman's voice singing. He followed the voice down the river to its mouth, and saw the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life bathing in the waters of the lake the river drained into. Her hair was white-gold in color and her eyes were the most brilliant shade of forest green. He fell in love with her instantly and she, at first, was angered at his presence. When he told her who he was she calmed and looked at him strangely. All she said to him was 'You are welcome in my father's house, My Lord,' before she disappeared into the forest. 

"He made his way back to the horses, puzzling over her words when he noticed he was surrounded by oddly dressed soldiers. The soldiers took him to a clearing in the wood and to, what he knew from what his friend had told him, the court of the Forest King. The king himself was large and had a thick red beard and eyes as green as the woman's. He sat upon a throne of living wood, so intricate it was a marvel to behold. The woman was the king's only child and stood at his side dressed in a gown that appeared to be made of molten silver. The prince asked for the hand of the forest princess, telling the king of his dilemma. The king agreed but the princess had a condition. 'I will marry you...' she told the prince, 'And bear you a son only if you build me a special garden, filled with the flowers and plant life of this clearing, for I am a creature of this forest and could never live in cold walls of stone.' 

"The prince agreed. He built the garden and returned to his bride even as his health faded. She kept her part of the bargain and bore him a son even as her husband, the new king, lay dying. She ruled the kingdom in his stead until her son's eighteenth year and then disappeared without a trace. It is said that she returned to her father's court, deep in the forest, alone and mourning her dead husband, whom she had grown to love." 

The garden itself represented something of love and of sadness for the little girl. She looked at the starlit stone path. A statue of a winged goddess that stood in the center of the garden was usually a symbol of victory and happiness, that night it was a symbol of emptiness. Its upturned gaze looked sad, as if the garden itself was mourning her loss. 

Her loss... the mistress of the garden. 

Her mother. 

Unable to control herself any longer the little girl collapsed on the ground and sobbed. 

Her father was gone, fighting with the Astroknights against some evil king who was trying to take over an ally planet. Nanny would leave her soon also, her sister and her family were sick with the same malady that took her mother's life. She was to leave on the morrow. She was alone. 

As her sobs subsided, she gazed at the sky. It was a clear night and the stars were so bright they almost hurt her tear-swollen eyes. One star in particular held her attention and she couldn't take her eyes off of it. It was very faint, so very distant, and it was blue. At least she thought it was. She felt almost a kinship with the faint little star, all alone in the vast plain of black and white. 

"I wish..." She began, without realizing... her thoughts becoming words, "I can't do this alone... I don't want to rule, I'm only 10, and I've never been much of a princess. Mother is dead... Nanny is leaving... and Father is... I don't want to disappoint them, but I don't want to be alone. I can't do it alone. I wish someone would come and help me..." 

The star listened silently, it blinked its reply. The little princess, exhausted and cold, tore her eyes from its light and left the little garden. 

~`@'~

"...Missing... lost... presumed dead..." They were the only words he heard. They were gone. Never coming back. Ever. 

The young man stood silently as the admiral told him. He didn't notice the sorrow on the man's face or the warm embrace of the woman who tried to comfort him. The boy didn't need to be comforted, he was numb. 

He remembered the attack, and his parents leaving for the front. They hugged him and promised to see him again... They promised! 

So much for promises. 

He was to numb to be angry. To weary to be sad. He was alone... but what about... 

The boy raised his empty eyes to meet the concerned gaze of his father's old friend. His voice was soft and didn't shake with his sorrow. His voice was hollow... like his eyes. 

"Where is Kira?"

The man looked pensive and cautious. "The school where you're sister was... it was destroyed by a stray laser blast. No one could have survived the blast, there was nothing left of the building but rubble. They found some bodies, but they didn't find your sister's. I'm sorry." 

Sorry, that word was so meaningless. Sorry wouldn't bring his parents back! Sorry wouldn't bring his sister back to life! Other boys would have broken down, but he was too tired to cry.

It hurt too much to be a dream.

The boy didn't react to the doctor's who cared for his wounds, didn't speak to the nurses who spoke to him with soft tones. He only stared, as if willing the pain in his heart away. 

Several days passed before the boy regained consciousness, it was night-time and he was alone in a barren hospital room. He got up from his bed and walked toward the window, drawn by the faint light of the stars. He loved the night sky. Often when he would wake from one of his nightmares he would sit at the window and stare at the stars. It was always his dream to visit those stars... to fly among them. Like his father and mother. 

Presumed Dead... That's what Mr. Michaelson had said. Presumed meant they didn't know... they could still be alive, somewhere, out there… with the stars. 

Kira... his sister. Dead. Gone. Forever. For the first time the boy began to cry. Silent sobs racked his young body. She was his best friend and confidant; there was never a time in his young life when she wasn't with him. They were twins, seven minutes apart. They had always been together, even when their parents tried to separate them at the age of five. They slept in the same bed, had the same likes and dislikes, and sometimes even shared the same thoughts. Now when he looked into his mind he was confronted with emptiness. 

He was alone. For the first time in his life, he was totally alone. 

He looked up at the stars with tear-soar eyes. He and his sister had picked a star once when they were four. They couldn't go to bed without wishing on it. It was a ritual they shared every night. He stared at the star as his tears slowed and stopped. He looked intensely at that star as if memorizing its light. 

"I wish I wasn't alone, that my sister wasn't really dead and my parents were just in the other room waiting for me to wake up..." He hadn't noticed that he was talking aloud until he heard the sound of his own voice. He balled up his fist as he continued. "I will find you someday Mom and Dad. Even if I have to search this entire galaxy! Doom will pay for you're death Firefly, and for my pain and for every other boy and girl whose parents will never come back because of this stupid war!" His eyes shone fiercely in the light of his special star. "I will find a way to make Zarcon pay. You'll see!"

He was numb again, his anger spent, but he had made a promise that he would keep. He would become the best damn pilot the Galaxy Garrison had to offer, if he had to. He had made a promise. 

He shivered as he walked back to his bed. He lay back down and pulled the blankets up to his chin. He looked at his star one last time, his eyes weary from his tears. "I wish I wasn't alone..." 

End. 

~`@'~

This story is mine, Voltron is not. This story was first posted by me 4 years ago under the name Ssaturne. Please feel free to let me know what you think.


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